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Born
10 Dec. 1905
at
Hafoty Fawr
,
Melin-y-Wîg, Mer.
, the third son of
Rice PriceJones
and
Jane
(née
Williams
)
. His father d. before
J.E.
was a year
old, and his mother, assisted by his two eldest brothers,
farmed the homestead
afterwards. No doubt the splendid location of his home and the rich musical, literary and religious culture of the district bound him to
Wales
from a young age. One of his grandfathers was imprisoned during the
tithe war
.

He was educated in the primary school at
Melin-y-Wîg
— a name revived by him —
1910-18
, and
Bala grammar school
,
1918-24
, before entering the
University College of Wales
at
Bangor
in
1924
. There he became
secretary
of the
Students’ Union
and succeeded in making
Welsh
jointly official with
English
. He was a leading member of the
society of the three G's
— ‘
Y Tair G
' — one of the three streams that united to found
Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru
— in
Aug. 1925
. He was appointed
secretary of the college branch of the Party
when it was formed in
Nov. 1926
, and topped the poll when he stood as a
nationalist
in a mock election. He graduated in
1927
.

After he had taken a post as a
teacher
in
London
in
1928
a branch of the Party was founded there with
J.E.
again as
secretary
. As a result of his extraordinary organising talent the branch flourished and became the largest in the Party. He returned to
Wales
in
1930
as
secretary
and
organiser
of
Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru
. In
Glan-rhyd (Presb.) chapel
on
27 July 1940
he m.
OlwenRoberts
, the sister of
John IorwerthRoberts
, and they had a son and daughter.

He possessed a tough character, a strong mind and patience. The great strength of his personality was often camouflaged by his gentleness. In addition to his work as
secretary of the executive committee of the Party
, he
organised the annual conference and summer school
, and also rallies. He developed these into strong organisations but he also stimulated the formation of branches up and down the country. Apart from his responsibilities at local and parliamentary elections (he himself stood as a candidate in
Caernarfon
in
1950
), he organised many special campaigns, such as those for radio and television, for a development corporation, against the extreme schemes of the
Forestry Commission
and against the appropriation of land in
Wales
by the
War Office
; the military camp at
Trawsfynydd
was twice surrounded by members of the Party. The campaign against the flooding of
Cwm Tryweryn
became very strong; but no doubt the campaign against the
Bombing School
in
Llŷn
in
1935
was the most notable, with the imprisonment of
SaundersLewis
,
LewisValentine
and
D.J.Williams
. These numerous operations demanded great effort in gaining the country's support. He contributed more than anyone to the great feat of keeping
Plaid Cymru
together during
World War II
.

He took care of press releases and all publicity, and occasionally he had to shoulder most of the load in publishing the Party's papers,
Y Ddraig Goch
and
Welsh Nation
. More than a hundred books and pamphlets were published during his term as
secretary
. He also built up the
St. David's Day Fund
as the Party's main financial source.

He
lectured and prepared television series on gardening
, on which he was an expert. In addition to a valuable volume on the subject, he
wrote a travel book about
Switzerland
. But his most valuable work is
Tros Gymru
, which is a mine of information on
Plaid Cymru
up to
1945
. In addition to all this, he was the
Sunday school teacher
of a large class of young women in
Heol y Crwys (Presb.) chapel
,
Cardiff
.

In
1962
ill health compelled him to relinquish his post as
secretary
of
Plaid Cymru
and take a lighter position as its
advisor
. He was on his way home from the office, during the general election, when he d. suddenly,
30 May 1970
. He was buried in
Melin-y-Wîg
cemetery. He is regarded as the chief architect of
Plaid Cymru
.